


blame

by Nightmare_insomnia



Series: renegades [14]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/M, not edited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightmare_insomnia/pseuds/Nightmare_insomnia
Relationships: Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch
Series: renegades [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1338205
Kudos: 16





	blame

There hadn’t been a lot of time after the second battle of Gatlon to honor the dead, but after the wounded had been taken care of and nobody was in any immediate danger, a small group of prodigies made their way back to the arena to collect the bodies. 

When Nova stepped into the Arena for the first time since they had all rushed to the Cathedral, she felt her heart throb. So many bodies lay on the ground, broken and bloody. The people around her began to fan out, searching the floor and in between the seats. Nova was hesitant to enter any farther into the room. Even though she was no stranger to death, seeing the bodies brought her mind back to the night her family died. She slowly made her way through the aisle, up one row, down another. Many of the seats were torn from their places. Nova stumbled as her foot knocked into a dislodged seat, tripping over a crumpled figure on the floor. Although the figure was drenched in blood, Nova recognized it immediately. Callum Treadwell. Wonderboy. A dark shadow, rising above him, the flash of metal as the scythe sank into Callum’s stomach. Nova gasped, turning away. Across the arena, she saw Hugh lifting the body of Winston Pratt into the air, and Simon kneeling over the body of Blacklight, mourning the loss of his friend. When Simon leaned down to close Evander’s eyes, something in Nova broke. She collapsed to her knees, tears gathering in her eyes as she watched the Renegades slowly gather the dead and say their goodbyes. Adrian was by her side in an instant, kneeling beside her and rubbing her back. 

“It’s all my fault. So many people are dead, and it’s my fault. I should have known what Ace was planning, I shouldn’t have trusted him.”

Adrian wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she finally let the tears fall. “It’s not your fault. Ace was your only family, what else were you supposed to do?” 

“I- I should have seen his plan, his true intentions, I should have done something to stop him. I was one of the closest people to him, if anyone would have seen it, it should have been me.” 

“Ace Anarchy cared for no one but himself and for power,” Adrian said. Nova winced, and although she knew it to be true, it stung to know that her uncle had been the one to kill her family. He had betrayed her. 

Adrian gathered her in his arms and stood up. It reminded her so much of the time that he had carried her out of the wreckage of the funhouse, that she smiled, thinking of that disastrous day, but also of how simple everything had seemed back then. It had been far from perfect, but her goals had been clearer, Adrian and the Renegades had still been oblivious, and everyone had thought that Nightmare was dead. 

“Do you want to leave?” Adrian asked as he turned towards the exit. Nova nodded, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Adrian carefully made his way back through the rows of seats, only stumbling once over a broken armrest. He carried her to the entrance, signaling to his dads that he was leaving, and stepped out of the building. Adrian set her down and Nova rose shakily to her feet, turning away from the arena. 

“We never got to go on an actual date, you know.”

“We went to the gala, that was a date.” 

Adrian scoffed. “You were two hours late, and you left so you could steal the helmet. That so does not count.” 

“I-” Nova stopped, her mind flashing back to that horrible night when her carelessness had almost cost Max his life. “I suppose not.” 

Adrian, noticing the faint smile that vanished from her face, reached down to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey, it’s okay. It all worked out in the end. Max is okay. We’re all okay.” 

Nova turned away from him. “Callum isn’t okay, Winston isn't okay. I don’t even know the names of some of the people who were killed, and they died because of me. I should have-” 

When she turned around, Adrian was grinning, holding a bouquet of brick red flowers. “Nova Artino, will you go on a date with me?” 

Nova wiped the newly formed tears from her eyes and nodded slowly. “Right now?” 

“It’ll take your mind off of everything. I know a great sandwich place. I tried to bring you sandwiches once, while you were working in your cubicle, but you ended up in the med wing, so I guess they got forgotten.” 

Nova nodded, still a little distracted as Adrian took her hand and led her down the block. 

Once they were seated in the restaurant, Adrian grabbed a menu and began pointing out his favorites to Nova, along with the ones he thought she might like. 

“What did you bring me that night when I was working?” Nova asked, still peering at the list of sandwiches. 

“Um, I actually brought you 5. I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I just figured I would cover the main groups?” 

For the first time since Adrian could remember, Nova burst out laughing. “You are such a dork. You bought five?” 

Adrian blushed. “I almost set out a picnic at your desk. With candles.”

Nova only laughed harder. “You’re really not helping your case here.”

“What can I say? You intrigued me. I’ve liked you for so long, you have no idea.” 

Nova chuckled awkwardly. “I knew. You weren’t exactly good at hiding it.” 

“But I won you over in the end, with my charming smile and witty personality?” 

Nova leaned over and kissed him. “You sure did.” 

Adrian pulled away, and whispered “I love you” in her ear, kissing her forehead. “I’ve liked you since the moment I saw you at the parade. The day you joined our team was probably one of the best days of my life. And when you ran into the quarantine to save Max, without giving it a second thought? That was probably one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen. And we’re superheroes. You may have run with the wrong crowd for a while, but you have a good heart.” 

Nova looked up at him. His eyes were so sincere and warm that Nova’s heart melted. She reached over to hug Adrian, pulling him close and whispering “I love you too” in his ear. 


End file.
